In 2022, the government expects economic growth of 5.9%

The Cabinet of Ministers discussed the draft state budget of Uzbekistan for 2022 and its parameters.

The meeting touched upon the indicators of the economy for the current year, as well as macroeconomic forecasts for 2022-2024.

In January-September 2021, GDP grew by 6.9% – significantly higher than the 5.1% expected last year. 338 thousand jobs were created, almost 77 thousand new business entities began to operate.

Compared to the same period in 2020, exports (excluding gold) increased by 34.1% – to $ 8.9 billion.

Total GDP growth in 2021 is expected to be 6.5-7%. The largest contribution to it will be made by industry (9.1%) and the service sector (8.6%). The volume of construction services will grow by 6.6%, while agriculture – by only 2.8%.

According to calculations, in 2022 the economy will grow by 5.9%, and in subsequent years – by an average of 6.5% per year.

The meeting participants stressed the need to maintain macroeconomic stability.

Thus, plans have been announced to reduce inflation to 9% in 2022 and to 5% in the medium term. In 2021, the Central Bank intends to keep inflation within 10% – for the first time in recent years.

In addition, it is planned to limit further growth of the national debt and reduce the budget deficit to 3% of GDP (currently 5.5%). Fitch, in its update on Uzbekistan’s credit rating, assumes a deficit level of 4.3% of GDP for 2022 and 3.8% for 2023.